Nigeria Revives 3 Abandoned Dams With N4.4bn in Three States
The Minister of Water Resources Professor Joseph Utsev has announced the allocation of approximately N4.4bn to revive three abandoned dam projects across the country.
The three dam projects are the Farin Ruwa Multipurpose Dam in Nasarawa State, the Ogbese Multipurpose Dam in Ekiti State, and the Mangu Dam in Plateau State.
The Nasarawa State government initiated the Farin Ruwa Dam project in 2003 to generate 20 megawatts of electricity and stimulate socio-economic development in the northern region.
However, the project was abandoned for nearly two decades due to funding constraints.
The Ogbese Multipurpose Dam project, initiated in 2009, was designed to provide hydroelectric power, irrigation, and domestic water supply for over 450,000 people in Ekiti State.
According to Utsev, the dam was expected to generate around four megawatts of hydroelectric power for the national grid.
The Mangu Dam project, launched in 2002 by the Federal Government to provide potable water, support irrigation, and potentially generate electricity, was initially scheduled for completion in 2017.
Yet, over 22 years later, the project remains unfinished despite annual funding allocations.
During an assessment tour of the Mangu Dam in October 2024, the Director of Dams and Reservoir Operations in the Ministry of Water Resources, Ali Dallah, stated that the Federal Government plans to construct additional dams to address flooding issues across the country.
He explained, “Flooding in Nigeria is primarily due to insufficient dams, which are essential for containing water and preventing downstream flooding. To achieve a reliable and sustainable solution, we need more functional dams.”
Dallah also noted that while countries like the United States have 92,000 functional dams and China has 98,000, Nigeria has only 408 registered dams.